FINE DISPLAY BY GOLD JACKET

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 389, 25 June 1928, Page 10

FINE DISPLAY BY GOLD JACKET

SPACER JUSTIFIES HIS PROMOTION TO HIGH CLASS When Gold Jacket followed up his Thames Cup victory by a fine win in the Hawcra Cup and registered -).29 3-5 for second place in the Waimate Plains Handicap behind Taipare, on the concluding day of the Easter fixture , many good judges averred that Mr. Parkcs’s black pacer would justify his claim to higher honours when stepped out in more select company. Th>cir judgment proved correct on Saturday when the Gold Bell gelding won the Mark Memorial Handicap in brilliant fashion. When Gold Jacket was placed on the end of the big handicap his friends were satisfied he would prove a tough proposition for the opposition, and their faith in his abiilty to succeed was further strengthened by his good work out at Mangere last Wednesday. So many supporters did the son of Gold Bell count that he was a good second favourite when the tote bells ceased tingling, £854 being invested on his chance. The Holmes bracket, Tom Thumb and Talaro, was the public first fancy with £899, Logan Chief ,Ibeing withdrawn. That fine trotter, Peterwah, came next with £783, and then followed Sea Pearl £728. Cardinal Logan £693 and Loch Moigh £524. and Peter Swift £516. Qf the better backed division Peterwah returned his admirers a second place dividend, and Tom Thumb flattered his supporters when the real business was in progress, but fourth was the best he could do. Young Blake and Native Prince were the other defections, leaving 14 classy pacers to contest the thousand-pounder, and while several of them invested the race with a fair amount of interest, it did not provide such a spectacular and thrilling go as was generally anticipated. On the Journey Gold Jacket was the leader for the major portion of the journey, the only one to wrest the position from him being Loch Moigh. When Hughes took the latter to the front six and a-half furlongs from home, Andy Bryce contented himself with trailing Loch Moigh, keeping an eye on Dalmeny and Tom Thumb, who were at this stage at close quarters to the front pair. At the half-mile the Gold LjII gelding was again in the van, and F. G. Holmes dashed after him with Tom Thumb, and they were followed along the back and across the top by Loch Moigh, Dalmeny, Talent (who left his feet). Lady Dunmore, Talaro and Cardinal Logan, with Peterwah, trotting in great style, moving up fast. Into the home stretch came the Auckland representative, with a half length advantage from Tom Thumb, who was followed by Dalmeny and Peterwah, with Cardinal Logan and Lady Dunmore the only others in the picture. In the final drive for the wire, Tom Thumb challenged Gold Jacket, and Dalmeny threw down the gauntlet. The latter reached Holmes’s charge, who weakened in the final pinch, and Dalmeny tackled the leader, who was still doing his work like a real horse. Then out flashed Peterwah, and the trotter wore Dalmeny down to get his neck in front at the post, but A. Bryce could not be caught and Gold Jacket won his first thousand-pounder brilliantly by over a length. The pacer was confidently and judiciously handled by his driver, and they were given a wellmerited reception on returning to the enclosure. Laying the Foundation The winner, who is by Gold Bell from Lady S. (both of whom are owned at Mangere) is the property of Mr. Ted Parkes, a popular Parnell light-harness enthusiast, who purchased the pacer about two years back from George Paton. When under the latter’s care Gold Jacket showed good sprinting ability, but when secured by Parkes went into H. Kinnimont’s stable, where he received every care and attention. The Royal Oak mentor laid the foundation of a big future for the black, and while in his hands he showed both speed and stamina. In 1927 he won the Thames Cup, and last spring he was sprinting better than anything at Alexandra Park. Kinnimont handed Gold Jacket over to L. McMahon before the Otahuhu summer meeting, and the latter, who has been most painstaking in his work, has met with splendid success. Andy Bryce has also been associated with the pacer in his victories, and the combination should get further laurels with the gelding.